Pages

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Actually, I didn't make the best dressed list. lol ! But, one of my cards DID. At the end of the year Pals Paper Arts chooses 12 cards (one for each month) as the ones they deemed "best dressed". PPA is one of the card challenge blogs that I like to play along with.

As the year draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment and reflect on this past year at Pals Paper Arts. We are so thankful for all of the participants who played with us over the past year!! Each design team member selected a favorite design out of the PPA Picks for each month. Winners will be given a badge to put on their blog. Enjoy the Best of the Best for 2011!

Not a bad way to start out my day, huh?

You can follow THIS LINK to see my card, and the comment by the design team member that chose my card. You'll need to scroll to the bottom of the post, as mine is the December choice.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Hi! I'm back with a birthday card for a family member. It's for one of the guys...and you stampers know how difficult it can be to make masculine cards. I did use my pinking scissors. I just had to do a decorative edge, since I couldn't use bling or ribbons. Ha!

I recently bought the Wonderful Word die set from Papertrey Ink, so this card gave me a chance to use one of those dies. These dies are so much fun to use. I did find that I needed to use a extra piece of cardstock as a shim, though. Otherwise the die didn't cut completely through my card stock. It was a very simple solution.
I heat embossed the word "birthday" in black, so that it wouldn't get lost in the background print.
Thanks so much for stopping in to take a look!

Monday, December 26, 2011

I was reading Susan R.'s post on her blog today. Her blog is: Questioning My Intelligence
I really like her idea of a gratitude journal, but it's not something I've "gotten around to doing." You know what I mean, right? All those things I want to do...someday. Well, today I'll start small and do a gratitude blog post.

I'm grateful for:
* my loving and patient husband
* my quiet, patient and fun sister (we're alike in some ways, yet so different in others...right Sis?)
* all of my in-laws. I couldn't have married into a better family :)
* our nieces & nephews...the 8 here on earth and the 1 in heaven (I'm so very proud of all of them).
* my friends. The ones I've known 'forever' and the ones I've know for a few years.
They are each so different, yet all so precious to me.
* the beauty of nature
* my creativity
* my blog friends & the papercrafting community
* my church & Pastor
And, most of all...I'm grateful for God & all the blessings he's provided. As Dave Ramsey says, when someone asks him how he's doing..."better than I deserve".
Like most of you, there have been difficult times in my life. But if I stop and look around...and remind myself. Yes. I have have so much to be grateful for.

Good Afternoon. It's the day after Christmas already. This month is going so very fast!

I just had to get back to my craft table this afternoon :)
So, I'm playing along in the CASE Study Challenge #70. Amy Sheffer is the December muse...take a look at her gorgeous inspiration card.

And this is my take on the challenge:

I was so inspired by the medallion images and the pretty die cut edge on Amy's card. I pulled out my Mega Mehndi Medallions stamps for my images. I love the fine details of these stamps. I added some pearls AND gems. Yeah, I couldn't stop. I think the soft pink accents are a nice contrast to the black images. Anyway, it was great to get back to stamping and blogging. It's so good to be back :)
Thanks for looking!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

I made this card for a friend of my sister. I thought that I had finished making Christmas cards...and was a little sad about that. Well, when my sister wondered about a handcrafted card for her friend...yeah, I jumped at the chance :o) My sister's friend "L" collects vintage aprons so I thought she might like a vintage style card.

This is the first time I've played along at Flourishes. I had no idea what I've been missing! That graphic with the lace, pearls and ribbon really called out to me.
I loved the sketch at Card Patterns. As you can see, I turned it on it's side for my card. Hopefully they won't mind!
At CASE Study, what struck me was the beautiful layering.

Anyway...this is how I combined all 3 challenges ~

I used 2 edge punches, 2 patterned papers 2 die-cuts, a few stamps, some stitching and some "frill" here and there. Of course, it took longer than I expected (I say that a lot, don't I?), but I love the results. I just hope that "L" likes it!
Thank you for popping in!

I just got my recent order from Stampin' Up! a few days ago, and couldn't wait to use some of that silver glimmer paper. It's sooooo pretty! I love the bling that it added to this card when I die cut it with a PTI word die.
Take a look.

This is the first time I've tried my hand at making a center step fold card. It was much easier than I thought and I'm pleased with the results. But...it measures 5-1/2 x 5-1/2, which means it won't fit in any of my envelopes. That's a little disappointing. Maybe I'll be creating an envelope for it.

Anyway, it was a fun card to create. The gals at JUGS provided a link to a tutorial for the center step fold card. So, take a look. You just might want to give it a try, too :)
Thanks so much for taking a look. Let me know if you have any questions.

About Me

Welcome! My name is Susie and I live in Illinois with my husband, near a small farming community. I hope you'll visit both of my blogs often to see what I'm creating at my craft table AND what I've been up to in my quest to stay healthy. That one is the journey of a lifetime!

Follow My Blog by Email

Followers

Subscribe using Feedly

Visit my Etsy Shop

Yes, I am!

Participant !

Pinterest

Search This Blog

Contact:

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you;do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Wear Orange...

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

In Memory of Matthew

7/7/1991 - 5/16/2010

Something to remember...

Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try.-Author Unknown

The fine print ~

All designs displayed on this blog, unless otherwise noted, were created by me and may not be copied for publication, competition or profit. If you CASE any of my cards, I would appreciate it if you would link back to my card. Thank you so much for your cooperation.

Paper Crafts Mag

Recognition List

To see recognition details, for the badges shown below, you can click on the Recognition tab under the title of my blog.